this too was a gift
by Someone aka Me
Summary: 26 unconnected slice of life drabbles. 1. LilyMarleneNarcissa 2. ChoMarietta 3. TeddyRoxanne 4. OliverPercyCedric 5. PercyDaphne 6. Hedwig. 7. Remus/Chocolate, wolfstar 8. Charlie and Victoire 9. Charlie/Sirius 10-18 all OliverPercyCedric. 19. Perciver. 20. Charlie and Dominique 21. Barty/Reg 22. Deamus 23. GeorgeSeamus 24. SeamusHarry 25. JamesLily 26. Argus/Irma
1. LilyNarcissaMarlene, shopping

When the three of them all go shopping together, they go to Muggle shops, because Narcissa has a reputation to maintain and Lily knows all the best places and Marlene doesn't really care as long as she's with her girlfriends.

They're looking for dresses, nominally because they're nineteen and they have been invited to four weddings in the last two months, but mostly because dress shopping with each other is just _fun_. Lily twirls in a circle in front of Narcissa, Marlene, and the mirror. Her dress is a deep emerald that brings out the darker flecks in her eyes. Narcissa's gaze lingers at the place where the neckline drops low. Marlene is staring at the curve of her neck and where it turns into her shoulder, the inch-wide strap only drawing attention to the jut of her collarbone.

Lily blushes, the red of her cheeks hiding her freckles. As a deflection, she shoos Narcissa into the dressing room with the magenta gown she's chosen. Narcissa comes out, and Lily can't help her jaw dropping. Her blonde hair and the pale magenta of the dress and the flare of the skirt make her look ethereal, as though she's an angel descended, just waiting for her time to ascend again. Marlene pulls her in for a kiss. Lily understands the urge.

"Get that one," Lily says without hesitation.

"Only if you get that one," Narcissa says.

"Deal," Marlene agrees for both of them. She grins at them.

"Why are you so damn fat?" comes from the neighboring dressing room. The three of them freeze at the yell.

"Honestly, how many times have I told you to stop eating so many sweets? You just have no self control, do you?"

Lily peers around the corner to see a mother and a girl who may be around 10. The girl is slightly above average weight, but not by much.

Narcissa leans over her shoulder, and then slides easily around her.

"Excuse me, that's enough," she says, firmly but coldly to the mother.

The mother looks at her, eyes wide. "What?"

"I said, that's enough. You are seriously damaging your daughter's self esteem for no reason but your own pettiness. You need to stop."

"Who are you to judge my parenting? I don't see you with a child."

"No, but I've been one. And my mother was a lot like you. She expected perfection. I know the damage that does."

Lily and Marlene are staring at Narcissa in awe. Narcissa took forever to admit how she felt about her mother to them, let alone to a complete stranger.

But before they can react, Narcissa has carefully moved forward and is looking the child in the eye.

"You are not fat. And even if you were, it wouldn't matter. It's not about external beauty. You're beautiful inside."

The child blushes. Despite what her mother may think, she's an adorable child — her skin is deep brown and the coral shirt she wears offsets it perfectly. Her face is round and her smile as she looks at Narcissa lights up her face.

"Thank you." Her voice is deep and surprisingly solemn.

Narcissa nods, and floats back to her girlfriends.

When they've rounded the corner, Lily and Marlene simultaneously silently squeal at her. "That was amazing," Marlene says under her breath.

Lily hugs Narcissa. "I'm so proud of you." Marlene piles on the hug.

"Kind of surprised, though," Marlene admits. "That was a very Gryffindor move."

Narcissa smiles faintly at her. "Hopefully that means that you two will become more Slytherin, as well."

Lily and Marlene both grin, look at each other, and in synch, say, "Nah, I don't think so."

* * *

Amber's Valentine Drabbles - LilyNarcissaMarlene, Magenta

(Stickers: shopping) (insane house: word: ethereal) (365: 57. Color: coral) (character appreciation: plot, protecting a child, bonus for Lily) (days of the month kiss a ginger: lily in a relationship) (showtime: finale: that's enough) (Buttons: Marlene)


	2. ChoMarietta, long distance

Marietta picks out the postcard carefully. She knows that Cho loves pink more than anything, so she picks a picture with the Eiffel Tower at sunset, the sky lit up with pinks and reds. It's beautiful, just like Cho. It's all Marietta can do from here. She wishes she could do more.

Staring at the postcard makes her miss Cho. But Marietta's father left England after the war, and he insisted that Marietta come with him. He said it would only be for a short while, but it's been two years and Marietta hasn't been back and she's not happy about it.

She takes the postcard and completely plasters the back with the pack of Muggle stickers she bought — pink hearts and little silver stars. She takes her quill and write's Cho's name and "I love you" in the spaces that remain. She doesn't say _I miss you_ , but she does. She doesn't say _I want to come home to you and I can't stop wishing for it,_ but she does. She doesn't say _I used to be hypnotized by the sight of your eyes but now I'm forgetting what they look like and it makes me want to cry,_ but that's true too.

She's using a Muggle postcard because she knows Cho will like it, but she sends it with her owl, Alaria, because Cho doesn't have a Muggle address.

As she ties the letter around Alaria's leg, she bites her lip. _Is it weird_ , she wonders, _to be jealous of an owl?_ But Alaria gets to see Cho.

She doesn't have much time to spend being jealous of her owl because there's a knock at the door. When she opens it, Cho is standing there with a giant grin and flowers.

Marietta screams and hurls herself at Cho.

Marietta can't see Cho's face, but she knows the grin grows.

"I missed you," Marietta says.

"I missed you, too," Cho says.

Two years is too long, but it's over now.

* * *

Amber's Valentine's Drabble: ChoMarietta, postcard

(Scavenger Hunt 26. Write about someone decorating something with stickers) (Femslashfeb ) (Ribbon snake- (object) quill) (Showtime 14. I'm Not That Girl (reprise) - (word) Wishing) (Days of the Month: Pink Day - Write about someone who likes pink (BONUS: not Umbridge)) (Year in Entertainment: Mean Girls (pink)) (Disney: The Sultan (words: Hypnotised/short/happy)) (Insane House: Item: stickers) (365: 161. item: postcard)


	3. TeddyRoxanne, pinky promise

Roxanne loves experimenting with new potions, but she's tired of working with men who don't believe her results just because she's a woman. It's 2035 and she really thought people would be over this bullshit by now. She made major improvements to polyjuice potion, but they won't publish her results because they don't believe her. It's pettiness and sexism at its finest, and Roxane is tired of it.

She's pacing the kitchen of their flat, fuming, when her husband Teddy comes in and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

"What's wrong, love?"

Roxanne growls.

"Tell me honestly, Teddy. Do you really think that I would falsify my work? Does that seem like something I would do?"

"Of course not."

"Then please, explain to me why these slime-balls always accuse me of it."

Teddy kisses her cheek again. "Because they're dicks, and you showed them who the real boss was?"

Roxanne grins at the memory. "I may have made them literal slime balls. But they deserved it!"

"Of course they did, love." Teddy moves into the kitchen. "Chicken and hummus for dinner?"

Roxanne smiles at him. "I love you."

He looks up at her from the cold cupboard and smiles. "I love you too," he says, pushing his glasses up his nose and grinning that boyish, childlike grin of his that's never gone away, no matter how old they get.

Teddy makes her dinner, and he kisses her softly, and he takes the weight of the world off her shoulders.

"I don't deserve you," she says.

Teddy looks at her intently and says, "It's clear we deserve each other. No one else would love me like you do."

And when dinner is over, he asks her if she wants a bath, and when she says no he pulls her into bed and he curls up with her under the covers and he whispers, "Remember the pinky promise that we made?"

And Roxanne looks through the window at the full moon and she knows that even as children they were right.

They will always have each other.

* * *

(Char Appreciation 4. (Object) Glasses) (Tom Cullen:(word) childlike, (word) moon, (time) nighttime) (Showtime: 6. "It's clear we deserve each other.") (World Marriage Day - Write about a married couple) (Buttons: W5: bath) (Dr. Jack Hodgins: (dialogue) "Do you really think that I would falsify my work?", (item) slime, (action) doing an experiment of any kind) (Lyric Alley 20. The weight's off my shoulders) (Liza's Loves: Between the Sheets - Write about being cuddled under the covers) (Snake: 32. Blonde hognose snake - (word) whisper) (Scavenger Hunt 13: Write a fic featuring polyjuice potion) (Insane house:Plot Point - Relaxing after a hard day) (365. 217. Potion - Polyjuice)


	4. OliverPercyCedric Amos POV, the bookshop

After the war, Cedric's father buys a bookshop in the countryside.

He means it as an escape. He needs to get away from the war that killed his son.

He offers it as a solace for the two men who loved his boy almost as much as he did. For the two people who understand his loss.

Percy Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic. He loves books almost as much as Amos does. He tells Amos that books have to be heavy because the whole world's inside of them. He tells Amos the stories are an escape. He tells Amos that things will get better. He doesn't look like he believes it.

Oliver Wood is everything Percy isn't. He's loud where Percy is quiet. He's athletic where Percy is academic. But his eyes look just as hollow and his heart looks just as broken. When Amos asks Oliver how he fell in love with Percy when he is so different from himself, Oliver looks at Percy, where the man sits in an armchair engrossed in a book, and he says, "Percy taught me early on to never judge a book by it's cover."

Maybe they're all a little too fond of book metaphors here.

Maybe that's okay.

There is a weird space between the three of them at first. Percy and Oliver have drawn into themselves since losing Cedric, since their three became two, and Amos doesn't want to get in the way of that.

But he also doesn't want to let them feel like they're alone.

Looking at the pair of them is always going to hurt, and it's always going to be a reminder of what he lost, but it's a pain that relaxes into a beautiful nostalgia.

He can see what his son loved in them.

* * *

Amber's Valentine Drabbles: OliverPercyCedric relax

(Library Lovers: Inkheart - Cornelia Funke; (dialogue) "Books have to be heavy because the whole world's inside them.; (setting) Book shop; (relationship) Father) (Insane house: Phrase/Saying - "Never judge a book by it's cover.") (365: 8. action: reading) (Char App 1. (Occupation) Ministry Worker) (Showtime 18. For Good - (genre) Friendship) (Lyric Alley: 2. That things will get better) (Liza's Loves 37. Widow's Kiss - Write about someone moving on) (Lent: Word Count 1. 300 words exactly) (Snek 39. Lancehead- (word) hollow)


	5. PercyDaphne, To Be a Hero (don't forget)

You never thought it would be like this.

You aren't sure what you were expecting, but it wasn't this.

You thought, maybe, you were supposed to be delighted.

Somehow, you thought _the war is over_ would mean the nightmare was done. Finished.

You wonder if that was naive of you.

You take a deep drag from your cigarette, let the smoke settle in your lungs, let it seep into your bloodstream, pray to a god you haven't believed in for ages that this will calm your trembling hands.

You breathe out.

You want to go home, but you don't know where that is. Instead, you sit on the steps of the decimated building you once called home and you wonder if you are even welcome here anymore.

You didn't fight.

But your parents did — not for the winning side — so now you and your sister are alone.

A spider skitters past you on the stone step and you marvel at its bravery. You marvel that it is still alive.

You feel like you are being crushed by an avalanche and you wonder if that's just the drama queen in you because you know there are people here who have lost more than you have.

You take another drag from your cigarette as a redhead with curly hair and a salt-stained face sits on the steps beside you. A tiny, animated dragon sits on his shoulder. You want to ask, but you don't.

"Got a light?" he asks.

"Obviously," you drawl, the sarcasm heavy on your tongue.

He's one of the older Weasleys, the one who was Prefect when you started Hogwarts what feels like a lifetime ago. You don't care enough to ask his name, but you do offer him a cigarette. The tiny dragon lights it for him, and in the face of your stare, he shrugs and says, "My older brother really likes dragons. He thought it might help."

He smiles at you, soft and wounded but genuine, and you wonder if he has a clue who you are.

He seems to read it in your face, because he sighs and says, "I'm done separating people. The wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers." He sighs. "The war made fools of us all."

You look at him. You know your face is impassive because you've honed the look. You keep your gaze steady and hide the tremble in your hands.

He looks back at you and says, "Maybe it's time for rebirth."

You blink, and then say, "I don't think rebirth is what we need. Starting over means we forget. We can't forget."

You don't know much, but you know that.

* * *

Auction Challenge: prompt: no character names; words: 444

Couple Appreciation:Restriction: only two characters

April Writing Month: 444 words

Scavenger Hunt: 8. Write a fic of exactly 444 words using the prompts: (character) Daphne Greengrass, (word) delightful and (creature) Dragon.

Amber's Attic: 10. How many wars will it take us to learn that only the dead return? (5 bonus points) / Book Club: Mister Nancy: (action) smoking, (creature) spider, (word) sarcasm, (word) trickster / Days of the Month: Tea Day - Write about someone trying to relax / Buttons: W4: avalanche / Lyric Alley: 25. Listen every day 'til the dark is back / AAA: 19. Jack in the Box Jesus - Word: Rebirth / Lo's Lowdown: D3: "The wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers."

Easter Egg Hunt: 12. Daphne/Percy / Easter Bingo: Title: To Be a Hero

365: 186. Location - Hogwarts

Insane house: Character - Daphne Greengrass

Unicorn Day: N - Nightmare


	6. Hedwigbeneath your wings(freedom pulls)

Assignment 7, Divination 3: Write about someone not being able to use his/her arms.

* * *

You have lost track of the moon cycles that you have been trapped in this cage.

You want to be free. You want to _fly_. Your wings are not meant to be so still. They need to stretch, blood and muscle and sinew moving beneath your skin.

You need to feel the wind beneath them, feel the pulse in your veins and the rush of wind in your feathers.

You need to be _free_.

.

You cry out, but no one seems to hear you. Or if they do, they just don't care.

You are lonely.

You have never minded being alone before, but that was when you knew you could take wing and visit anyone you wanted. Now, you are surrounded by your brethren who are crying out in concert and you have never felt so alone.

.

When the moon rises, it calls to you. You want to take wing, answer its call, but you are trapped. You sleep, but not well. You wonder how long this torture will last.

.

A man larger than any man you have ever seen comes in and peers inside the bars that hold you flightless. Hope swells up inside of you. His gaze is warm, and you wonder if this will be the man who sets you free.

He goes to the man who has trapped you, makes human sounds, and gives the man a handful of something pulled out of a brown square. Then he comes and lifts the cage that holds you ground-bound, and carries you outside.

You cry out, hoping for for freedom.

But he does not release you from your prison.

Your hope falls.

.

Something ancient and longing thrums in your veins. It is the heritage from centuries of your ancestors, from the goddess herself, the heritage of so many before you longing to take wing. You are a species built for the skies; the skies live in you.

You cry out again. The large man looks at you, and hums softly. "Don't you worry. Just a little longer."

You do not know what he says, but his tone is soothing. It does not placate you.

.

Then he is knocking on a window and you are meeting a young human with a familiar loneliness in his eyes who looks at you with respect and sets you free.

Your wings stretch, pull, flex. It hurts. It's beautiful.

You think about flying far, far away and never returning. But you think about the boy with the innocent, lonely eyes and the familiarity found there.

And that? That is enough to bring you back.

…

Years later, you will look at this boy, whose loneliness has faded to make way for determination and loss and the weight of the world, and you will think, dying is not so bad when it is for him.

* * *

Auction Challenge: prompt: Hedwig words: 471

Couple Appreciation: Trope: first meet

Pinata: 471

Film Festival: 24. Word: Swell

April Writing Month: 471

Disney: C2: Tigger - Write about someone who is always moving and has a lot of energy. / Book Club: Mama-ji:(word) ancient, (word) familiar, (word) goddess / Showtime: 1. Overture - write a different POV of a canon event / Buttons: O4: Wallet / Lyric Alley: 27. It's the only time that I see your face / AAA: 5. King Falls - Word: Fall / Lo's Lowdown: Sam Wilson: write about someone going to therapy. Alt. write about someone with wings.

Insane house: item - cage

Unicorn Day: word - innocent


	7. Wolfstar, addiction (affliction)

Assignment 7: Herbology 1: Write about a character who has an allergy and how they cope with it in their day to day life.

* * *

"I wouldn't go up there if I were you," James tells Peter as Peter gets off the couch and moves toward the stairs to their dorm.

Peter stops and turns around, frowning. "I thought our dorm was off limits after the debacle in second year?"

James grins in remembrance, but then shakes his head. "Nah. Moony's up there with his boyfriend."

Peter looks toward the chair near the entrance to the common room, where Sirius is passed out and snoring, even though it's 3 pm on a Saturday.

"His other boyfriend."

Peter just shakes his head at James and proceeds toward the stairs, figuring it has to be safe enough because odds are high that James is just fucking with him.

"Don't do it, Peter! Some things just can't be unseen!"

Peter can hear the sounds as Sirius springs awake at James's yell, but he doesn't turn back. Frankly, after six years with his friends, he's used to the fact that they are 95% bullshit.

He makes his way up the stairs just as Sirius starts yelling at James for waking him up. The rest of the common room doesn't even react, because they, too, are clearly immune to Marauder-bullshit levels.

He finds Remus sprawled out on his bed, an empty potions vial on his bedside table, and the mauve wrappers from at least four full-sized Honeydukes chocolate bars surrounding him.

He's on his back, aimlessly scratching at the hives that are developing despite the potion, while sucking on another square of chocolate.

Peter pauses, his search for his Herbology textbook momentarily forgotten.

"Moony, you _know_ the allergy potion can't prevent the hives. Why do you still eat that stuff?"

Remus looks at him, swallows the square in his mouth, and shrugs slightly. "What is life, without joy, Peter? A dull, lifeless void."

Peter rolls his eyes. "I thought Sirius was the drama queen in this relationship."

It's then that footsteps stampede up the steps and Sirius bursts into the room, eyes wide and chest heaving. "Remus, James said—"

He stops, taking in the scene. Remus has picked up another square and is letting it melt in his mouth. His arms and throat are both red from scratching, arms covered in hives.

He looks brazen and unrepentant. James, appearing on the stairs and leaning on the doorframe, chuckles.

"I told you he needed some alone time," James says. Sirius scowls at him.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sirius says.

James laughs. "You can't deny it, Sirius. Remus has been in love with chocolate since long before you came along."

Sirius looks at Remus, as though hoping his boyfriend will deny this, but Remus just swallows and shrugs.

"Mooooooooony," Sirius whines. "I thought you loved me best."

Remus grins at him. "Chocolate is less needy."

Sirius scowls at him, but there's no menace behind it. "At least I don't _poison you from within_."

Remus shrugs. "Love is pain, darling."

"Stop scratching or I'm going to take the chocolate away."

Remus gasps in horror. "You _wouldn't_."

"You are _allergic_. Normal people _avoid the things they are allergic to_."

Remus shrugs. "It's worth it."

"I'm putting that on your grave when you die because you have no self-control."

"At least it'll be a happy death."

Sirius flops back on his own bed and stares at the curtains of his four-poster.

"I give up. Have fun with your new boyfriend. I'll just be sad and alone."

James, from the doorway, chimes in with, "Actually, I think chocolate was first, Pads. I think you're the other woman."

Sirius clutches at his heart. "Way to kick a man while he's down," he says.

"He's not wrong about the timeline," Remus says, finally putting aside the last wrapper and rolling onto his side to stare at Sirius.

"Et tu, Moony?" Sirius glances at him, mimes a heart attack, and pretends to collapse in death throes.

"Oh look," says Peter flatly. "Sirius has died. Again. What. A. Tragedy."

"That's, what, the seventh time this month?" James's smile is wry.

"Fuck you all," Sirius says without opening his eyes.

"I think that's just for Remus," Peter retorts.

Sirius groans at the pun. James snickers. "Coming back to life, are you?"

"I don't know," Sirius says. "How can I live with such betrayal?"

Remus grins. "I think you'll be just fine." He fishes in the fabric of his bedsheets, and beams when he comes up holding another chocolate bar.

"Addict," says Sirius.

"Appreciator," counters Remus.

"Fucking ridiculous," says Peter.

Remus just shrugs, and bites into the new bar.

* * *

Auction Challenge: Remus/Chocolate; prompt: words: 760

Couple Appreciation: No characters over 21

Pinata: Marauder era; words: 760

Film Festival: 3. Day - Saturday; 4. Setting - School

April Writing Month: 760

Scavenger Hunt: Use the prompt set: (colour) mauve, (word) spring, (dialogue) "You have got to be kidding me."

Character Appreciation: 43. Genre: Humour / Days of the Month: Find a Rainbow Day - Only feature queer characters or pairings (10 points) / AAA: 18. Don't joke about the Full Moon - Character: Remus Lupin

Easter Egg Hunt: Remus/Chocolate

Insane house: food: chocolate

Unicorn Day: R- Remembrance


	8. Charlie and Victoire, rainbows will come

She is born on the day when it all comes to an end.

One year after he lost his brother, his niece is born.

They name her Victoire, Victory, after all that they have overcome.

She is _so small_.

Charlie remembers being nine years old when they brought his baby sister home from the hospital, remembers staring at this tiny foreign pink thing his mother called "Ginny." Unique in a sea of brothers, she was something novel, something noteworthy.

He doesn't remember Ginny ever looking so small.

He takes Victoire into his arms gently, delicately, as though she is a spiderweb of spun silk, so easily broken. She rests on the soft yellow blanket, carefully swaddled.

Her eyes are closed. She sleeps peacefully.

Charlie has never been so grateful that the war is over. That his niece will grow up in a time of peace.

"She's beautiful," he says softly, staring at the tiny shock of blonde hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he can tell that Bill is beaming.

"She's perfect," he says in return.

She breathes out, smacking her lips gently.

Charlie wants to wrap her in his arms and ensure that the world can never touch her. He wants to hold her hand and make sure she never has to be afraid. He wants her to know that she has an entire colony of dragons on her side and that no one should ever hurt her.

But he knows better. He knows that's not how this works.

She will fall down. And her mother and her father and her whole clan of over overprotective aunts and uncles will have to let her.

She will experience pain. And heartache. And anger.

She will learn that the world is ugly and that people can do _terrible_ things.

But Charlie vows right now, his tiny niece in his arms, that she will also learn that the world is beautiful. He will make sure she knows that people are capable of beautiful things. She will know joy. And love. And euphoria.

She will know that when the rain is over, the rainbows will come.

And she will never be alone.

* * *

Auction: 361 words, Charlie and Victoire

Writing month: 361 words

Couple appreciation: setting: hospital

Char App 44. Genre: Family

Disney C6: **Roo** \- Write about one (or more) of the next gen kids, before hogwarts.

AA: 13. When your heart is broken, you plant seeds in the cracks and pray for rain.

Showtime 11: Entr'acte/Marilyn Monroe 2 - write about eating ice cream. Alt. write a family fic.

Lyric Alley 20. You get me every time

AAA: 12. Beware the Rainbow Lights - Word: Rainbow

Sophie's Shelf: The Ingenue: Write about an innocent female.

Easter Bingo: 49. Colour: Yellow

Unicorn Day: unique

Shakespeare: Sonnet 18 - write about a woman being spoiled or cherished.

Insane House: Plot Point - Visiting a family member's new baby in the hospital


	9. CharlieSiriusThat's How You Write a Song

Sorry, I really just needed Kristoff!Charlie.

…

Charlie hums as he strokes Norberta's head. The dragon huffs steam out her nostrils.

"I know, Bert. I'll get you some food. You just wait here."

The dragon huffs again.

Charlie smiles at her, this beautiful creature who was the only thing he had left when he ran away from home. This beautiful creature that he ran away from home _for_ , when his mother said that they couldn't keep a dragon in the house. When his mother told him that Norberta was small now, but she'd get big.

She wasn't wrong about that last part.

"Oh, hush. You know you can't let people see you, kiddo, you're a damn dragon. With this magic winter, it's only going to be worse. You know people like to blame the dragons for anything magic."

Norberta chuffs at him.

"I know, I know. Here, Here's the bags. You keep them safe, and you stay hidden."

Norberta huffs and then turns around in a circle before settling herself in the snow.

Charlie smiles at her, and heads into the small shop.

…

He doesn't expect to come out on his ass in the snow, tossed out by the highly intimidating shopkeeper who did not enjoy Charlie's attempts to bargain.

Norberta pops out of her hiding place and noses him gently, looking for food.

He sighs. "Sorry, Norberta. Not today. But, on the plus side," he says, glancing over at the nearby shed, "I think I found us a place to stay."

...

Sirius hears the melodic voice as he exists the trading shop. It's coming from the shed.

"Dragons, are better than people. Bert, don't you think that's true?" It a man's voice, deep and warm. Then the voice goes high and comical.

"Yeah, people will beat you and curse you and cheat you. Every one of them's bad. Except you."

The man's voice takes a normal tone as he says, "Thanks, kiddo." And then he sings agin.

"But people smell better than dragons. Bert, don't you think I'm riiiiight?"

And then, in the faux voice again, "That's once again true. For all, except you."

He laughs, pure and true. "You got me. Let's call it a night."

"Good night," in the voice.

And then, "Don't let the dragon-fire bite!"

Sirius is chuckling. He'd just come out to hand the man the bunch of carrots he'd tried to buy. He hadn't expected a show.

He enters the barn clapping.

"Bravo, bravo. Encore."

The redhead looks up at him in shock. Next to him is curled a full sized dragon.

"Do I want to know?" Sirius asks.

"Probably not," says the redhead.

Sirius thinks about that, but figures he's got his own history that he doesn't want to go in to, considering his brother created an eternal winter. So instead, he just shrugs.

"Fair enough."

And he sits down beside the man and offers him the carrots.

…

Auction: frozen

Cooking: frozen AU

Chocolate Frog Cards: (Gold): Giant Purple Toad: Challenge: Incorporate someone hiding in your story, for whatever reason.

Disney: c1: Simba - Write about a runaway

Shannon's Showcase: Title: That's How You Write A Song; Lyric: "Enjoy the small things, with time they will get big."

Book Club: Tala: (word) safe, (action) smiling, (dialogue) "You keep them safe.",

Buttons: W5: Melodic

Lyric Alley 6. And I heard your voice

AAA: 9. Pig Trials - (plot) Someone has a close familial bond with a pet [Bonus]

Photography month: 10. Lifestyle Photography: Write about a 'slice of life'.


	10. OliverPercyCedric, love you violently

Assignment 9 Mythology: **11:** Write a Drapple. Alt: Write about someone who feels like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

* * *

love you violently (all through the night)

The room is quiet.

Percy has never seen his home so quiet.

It's been a week and yet they are all still so dazed, still so wounded.

There's still something so big _missing_.

Percy feels so _guilty_.

Because the truth is, it's his fault.

It's his fault that Fred is gone.

Fred died because of _him_.

Fred died because Percy distracted him.

And then on top of everything else, he's been gone for so long.

He _abandoned_ them.

His family, and he _abandoned_ them.

In the end, he regrets so many things.

So he takes the weight of it all. He takes the weight of everything he can. He helps his mother with the meals and all of her baking and seven batches of cookies, and he brings her glasses of water and make sure she's comfortable as best as he can when she finally sits down. He helps Charlie pack to go back to Romania and he helps Ginny when she wants to talk about Harry and how she loves him and also how she hates him and he helps Ron deal with his guilt about leaving and he helps and he helps and he helps until he feels like he has nothing left because what else can he do?

He's so tired. He used to be so confident, but now all he feels is tired. And broken.

But he doesn't have time to take a break, because he has to hold everyone up.

Because he left them behind.

George hasn't left his room since the funeral. Percy isn't sure what he can do about that, so he leaves meals outside George's door and picks them up uneaten and he wishes there was more that he could do.

The doorbell rings.

Percy jumps up immediately. His mother smiles at him fondly but it doesn't reach her eyes. Percy wonders how long it will be until it does.

He opens the door.

Oliver and Cedric are standing on the front porch.

Oliver blinks at him. Cedric says, "Percy, have you slept in the last week?"

Percy considers this.

He's slept… a bit? He thinks about the nights, about staying up with Ginny sobbing into his shoulder until she falls asleep on the couch. He thinks about getting up early with his mother to start baking, because it soothes her, and it's better if she's not alone. He thinks about waking up in the middle of the night and checking on George, usually finding him awake and staring out the window.

He knows the bags under his eyes are approaching a dark violet colour.

Oliver says, "I'll take your blank look as an answer. Look, you need to sleep."

"I have to help mum make dinner—"

Cedric shakes his head.

"You need to sleep, hun. You can't help anyone if you don't sleep."

Percy rubs his face. "I…"

He doesn't get to finish the sentence. Oliver shoves him in the door, Cedric hot on his heels.

Oliver smiles charmingly at his mum while Cedric shakes his father's hand. They offer their condolences, and then Oliver says, "We're taking Percy upstairs to get some sleep, Mrs. Weasley."

She smiles at them. "You boys are so sweet."

Oliver ushers him upstairs while Cedric asks his mum if there's anything that he can help with. He doesn't hear her response, but it must be a no, because Cedric follows them up the stairs.

Oliver shoves him into a seated position and eases off his socks, gently followed by his pants. It's a weird contrast of forceful and soft, something only Oliver has ever been able to achieve. He pulls back the neatly made red covers.

Percy feels a bit like a child, but he's also too exhausted to care.

It's all crashing in on him right now. He's thinking about Fred. He's thinking about how long it's going to take for them to feel okay again.

In the end, he slides up to the headboard and curls on his side, facing the wall. After a moment, Oliver slides in next to him and curls up against his back. Oliver is several inches shorter than him and his face rests in the small of Percy's back, an arm curled around his waist. Cedric curls in behind Oliver, one arm wrapped over Oliver and a hand resting on Percy's hip.

The bed isn't really big enough for the three of them but Percy doesn't care. It's warm, cushioned in their arms. Compared to the weight that's been bearing down on him, it feels magnificent.

"Perce?" Oliver says softly.

Percy hums.

"Your brain is still buzzing isn't it?"

Percy nods. He knows Oliver can feel the motion.

Oliver knows him too well. Oliver has known him since they were eleven, and always understood him in a way that no one else did — until Cedric.

At first, it was just Percy and Oliver, and Percy didn't believe that anything could get any better.

But then Oliver fell in love.

It took him three months to tell Percy, and he looked so guilty and ashamed.

And Percy… Percy couldn't claim to understand, but he never wanted Oliver to feel bad for loving _too much_.

In an attempt to understand what had made Oliver fall in love with him, Percy started spending time with Cedric as well.

Soon, he understood.

He understood all too well.

In the end, after months of both of them pining and stupid over Cedric, they'd finally talked to him about it. And it was glorious.

At first, it had felt weird. It had been awkward and stilted and difficult, trying to navigate three people in a relationship that the world told them was meant for two.

But they'd tried.

They'd tried, and eventually, it had settled into something warm and comfortable and somehow even _more_ than when it had just been the two of them.

Cedric was something that they hadn't known they were missing.

He has the same enthusiasm for Quidditch as Oliver and the same strict moral code as Percy and he bridges the contrasts between them in ways they hadn't known they needed.

And now, he curls up behind Oliver and he rests a hand on Percy's hip and he makes both of them feel warm and safe, and because he knows Percy's head is buzzing with everything he could be doing, he starts talking.

So while Oliver squeezes him tightly and grounds him, Cedric starts telling them about his first Quidditch match, twelve years old and light and nimble on a broom. He gives a play by play of each score, his voice low and soothing.

Together they are a panacea for all that aches inside of him.

And the low cadence of Cedric's voice worms its way into Percy's skin, and the warmth of Oliver's arms surrounds him, making him feel warm and safe, making the buzzing in his brain drop off to a simple wave current, lapping at the shores.

Slowly, and then all at once, he drops off to sleep.

* * *

Writing Month:1170

Moresome May: action: sleeping. Word count:1170

Character Appreciation: 8. Word: first

Shannon's Showcase: **5\. Belarus:** Word: Magnificent; Theme: Love

Showtime: 9. Fantine's Death - (relationship) Mother

Days: Brothers Day - Write about brothers

Buttons: W3: glorious

Lyric Alley: 4. I threw my arms around her legs

Angel's Arcade: **Mario** : (Character) Harry Potter; (Color) red; (Pairing) Harry/Ginny

Film Festival: 20. Emotion: Guilty

Photography Month: 10. Lifestyle Photography: **Write about a 'slice of life'.**

Cooking: Chocolate Chips: Food: Cookies

Pokemon: Word: Confident; Relationship: Mother/Son; Colour: Violet

Debate: OT3, Lyric: "Home is such a lonely place without you." - Blink 182

Insane House: word: Panacea


	11. OliverPercyCedric, puppy Fluffy

Assignment 9: Mythology task 12: Write about Fluffy.

…

 _fire of devotion_

It is the last thing Percy expects to find.

It is raining.

It is raining, and it's his birthday, and he has to do rounds of the grounds but he doesn't have an umbrella.

He casts a water-repelling spell on himself as he gives the grounds a cursory check over and gets ready to head inside.

Except that's when he hears a small whimper.

There's a small dog taking shelter in the fringes of the forest. It takes Percy a moment to realize the dog has three heads.

Why on Earth is there a cerberus running around in the forest?

The tiny dog whimpers again, and Percy's heart melts.

It's _raining_.

He pulls off his jumper and wraps it around the dog, scooping him up.

He sighs. "You're lucky you're small," he tells the dog. "And my boyfriends would kill me if I left a dog out in the rain. Even if you are… you know. Not a normal dog."

…

He gives the Fat Lady the password and steps into the common room. As is common when he finishes his late rounds, the room is nearly empty. There's a seventh year in one corner asleep on his books, and curled together on one of the couches near the fire are his boyfriends.

Cedric is sprawled out, laying across all three cushions. Laying on his chest is Oliver. One of Cedric's arms is wrapped around Oliver's shoulders. Oliver's eyes are lidded, clearly half asleep.

Percy deposits the dog in front of the fire, hoping that will help it dry off. He folds the jumper and places it on one of the orange side tables.

Cedric is staring at the cerberus.

"Er, Perce?"

Percy hums.

"Why is there a… dog?"

Oliver snaps up. "Dog?"

He looks at the cerberus puppy, squeals, and hauls himself off the couch.

"PUPPY!"

Cedric lets his head fall back on the couch.

"Look what you've done."

Percy grins at them both. Oliver is now petting the hellhound.

"He's going to be a nightmare," Cedric says.

"I know," Percy agrees. "But look how happy he is."

Cedric laughs, and it feels like forgiveness.

"It's your birthday, babe," Oliver says. "Why am I getting presents?"

"Oh no, no. You will not have him. He is not for keeping. He is for warming up and finding his home."

Oliver turns to Percy with the full force of his pout, which has always been formidable.

"But, baaaaaabe."

"No," Percy says. "I brought him up because he was sad and lonely, and I knew you'd kill me if I left him that way. Do you _know_ how big hellhounds get? We are not keeping him."

Oliver sulkily goes back to petting the dog.

Cedric is still chuckling on the couch.

Percy loves them both so much.

He still doesn't know how he got here. He never expected to be this happy. It's his OWL year and he's Prefect and maybe he should be stressed. But he loves everything about being a Prefect and he knows he's prepared for his OWLs and having two beautiful boyfriends only makes everything even better.

…

In the end, Oliver makes the dog a bed and the dog doesn't stay in it, instead sleeping at the foot of Oliver's bed.

Even Percy has to admit it's kind of cute.

But they can't keep a cerberus in their dorm so Percy takes the dog to Hagrid, who seems the most likely culprit.

"Fluffy! Where'd ye find 'im?"

Percy raises an eyebrow at the name, but he just says, "He was outside last night. Hagrid… where do you intend to keep this dog?"

"Ah, it's all righ'. I've got a place once 'e gets big."

Percy sighs, but then figures it's _really_ not his problem.

…

"Percy," Oliver says later that month. "Percy, I need you to come with me."

Percy frowns at him. "What?" Cedric is standing next to him, but he just shrugs.

"Don't question. Just come."

Percy shrugs and follows his very enthusiastic boyfriend.

"Oliver," he says when he realizes where they're going. "This is the third floor."

"Yup," Oliver says.

"It's out of bounds," he says.

"Yup," Oliver agrees.

Percy sighs. So does Cedric.

The thing is, Oliver knows they hate breaking rules. He wouldn't ask it if it wasn't something that mattered to him.

He unlocks the door with a simple spell and the three of them step through.

There, in the middle of the room, standing on a trapdoor, is a larger, clearly adolescent version of the small cerberus Hagrid had called Fluffy.

"PUPPY!" Oliver yells.

Fluffy throws himself at Oliver and Percy almost throws himself in front of Oliver until he realizes that Fluffy is just furiously licking Oliver's face.

"What," Percy says flatly.

Cedric's eyebrows are climbing his face.

"Why is there a puppy in the forbidden corridor?" Cedric asks.

Percy shrugs, eyes fixed on the trapdoor.

When that dog grows up, it will be a formidable obstacle.

For now, though? It seems to have adopted his boyfriend.

And Percy can't do anything in the face of Oliver's happiness.

* * *

Writing Month: 848

Moresome: action: playing games. Word count: 848

Book Club: Eddie: (event) birthday; (word) nightmare; (word) forgiveness

Showtime: 22. On My Own - (weather) Rainy

Buttons: O1: socks

Angel's Arcade: Daisy: (Color) Orange; (Location) Common Room (of your choice); (Quote) "You will not have her/him!"

Lyric Alley: 12. Only if for a night

Sophie's Shelf: 5. Gunther; Write about someone with a language barrier.

Cooking: Mushrooms: Action: Running

Pokemon: fire of devotion: 126. Magmar 1. Word: Umbrella; 3. Item: Jumper. 5. Plot Point: Getting caught in the rain without an umbrella

Debate: OT3: Setting: A Hogwarts Common Room


	12. OliverPercyCedric, Penelope POV

Penelope Clearwater is in love.

His name is Percy.

He has red hair the colour of the heart of a matchstick flame and eyes the colour of the summer sky and his voice worms its way under her sternum and makes her feel warm.

He loves the rules more than anyone she's ever met, and his face is usually stern, but when he smiles it feels like a sunrise — slow emerging, but beautiful.

She can't forget the first moment she noticed him, perfectly executing a summoning charm, fingers long and delicate on his wand. The image is emblazoned in her memory.

When he comes back from summer holidays after their sixth year, he looks different. He still patrols with her for their Prefect rounds, mostly, but sometimes he swaps so that he can patrol with Cedric instead, which isn't something he used to do.

She doesn't want to let him slip away.

But she sees him studying in the library with Oliver and Cedric and she sees the way he's smiling and she wonders if she's already too late. He smiles at Cedric in a way that is soft and slow and sweet. The way she wants him to smile at her.

So she plans. She waits until they're alone, and she gathers all her courage.

"Percy, will you go on a date with me?"

He blinks at her.

"Oh," he says.

That's not exactly the start she wanted.

"Penny, I like you, but I already… well. I'm already in love."

She takes a deep breath, bracing herself.

Rejection hurts. But she's not surprised. He's clearly in love with Cedric.

"See, Oliver—" he says, and Penelope frowns.

"Wait. I'm confused. Are you in love with Oliver or Cedric?"

He looks at the floor, and then back up at her, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um. Yes?"

Now she's the one blinking at him in shock."

He tilts his head slightly. "I never… well. I didn't expect it, but. I can't regret it."

"Oh," she says, in the same way he just did.

"I'm sorry, Penny," he says.

"Don't be," she says, as though underwater. She's hazy with surprise. "It's not… I'm glad you're happy. You are happy, right?"

His smile is less like a sunrise and more like a wildfire, blindingly bright. She can't look away.

"I am," he says.

And she's glad for that, but it doesn't stop the ache.

* * *

 **for: HSWW (C &A)**

Writing Month: 401

Moresomes: Dialogue: "Wait. I'm confused. Are you in love with (person 1) or (person 2)?" / "Yes."; word count: 401

WC: Character Appreciation: 22. (genre) friendship / Showtime: 25. Building the Barricade - (word) Plan / Lyric Alley: 9. It was all so strange / Sophie's Shelf:Mattathias Medicalschool; Write about someone who is heard in the story, but not seen. / Emy's Emporium: 6. Mongke Khan - write about someone who is honourable

Cooking: pink grapefruit - bliss

Debate: spell: accio, OT3

Holmes: plot point: someone is decieved

Insane House: spell: accio


	13. OliverPercyCedric, a first date

Assignment 11: Herbology **Task 1:** Write about someone struggling with a change in their life.

* * *

Percy's been on a date with Oliver.

He's been on a date with Cedric.

But he's never been on a date with both of them at once.

He's weirdly nervous about it. He's not sure why.

He's pacing in the bedroom of the tiny flat he shares with Oliver, trying to decide what to wear, which isn't something he's done since his first date with Oliver at age 16. That was six years ago. In between, they've had a war and a breakup and a make up and too many funerals to count. It feels like another life. He shouldn't be that sort of nervous. Not after everything he's survived.

And then Oliver is there, leaning against the doorframe to their bedroom. He's dressed in his best pair of jeans, the ones that hug his ass and make Percy want to keep him home and do _unholy things_ to him. On top of that, he's got a black t-shirt on that pulls tight around his biceps and how the hell is Percy supposed to compete with that?

He's _gorgeous_.

Oliver's lips are curled up slightly, smug and amused in one.

"Nervous, love?" he asks.

There's no point in lying to him.

They've been best friends for a decade now. Oliver knows him often better than he knows himself.

"I don't know _why_ ," he admits.

Oliver shrugs, pushing himself off the door frame and moving toward him. "Because you don't like change, love. But you know this is going to be something good for us."

Percy inhales, and then he smiles.

"You're right. Of course you're right."

He wants this. He does. He's been in love with Oliver for years and he's fallen for Cedric fast as wildfire in the last year, and he wants this: them, together.

And he knows Oliver and Cedric want it too.

Oliver just smiles softly, and then moves toward the closet, rifling through Percy's clothes without even thinking.

"Here," he says, pulling out Percy's favorite purple button-up and a pair of black slacks. "You always look best when you're comfortable. Besides, purple's a good colour on you." He smirks. "You look hot as hell in purple."

Percy takes them gratefully, only blushing slightly at the compliment.

Oliver steps in, runs a hand up Percy's biceps and lands on his shoulder. "I already love you. That's not going to change. And Cedric already loves you, too. And Cedric and I are friends. You've got nothing to worry about, love." He smiles gently, and then steps closer, curling his head up and pushing himself onto his toes to kiss Percy. Percy bends down, letting Oliver land back on his heels. Percy hands come up, holding Oliver's hips.

When he pulls back, he breathes in deep.

"I love you," he says. "Even when I'm worried about everything else, I know that."

Oliver grins. "I love you, too. And you know, if you fall, I'll catch you. Now get dressed, or we're going to be late."

And when they show up at the restaurant and find Cedric seated at the table, staring at the basket of free bread, dressed in a red button-up with an amiable smile on his face, Percy knows that all his worry was for naught.

* * *

Writing Month: 540

Moresome May: plot point: first date, word count: 540

Showtime: 38. Valjean's Confession - (object) Bread

Buttons: D5: "I'll catch you"

Film Festival: 19. Emotion: Nervous

Scavenger Hunt: 20. Write a fic about a slash pairing

Cooking: Cheese: write really cheesy fluff

Insane House: Word Count - 540 words


	14. OliverPercyCedric, a first dance

Percy missed one brother's wedding.

He's not going to miss another.

George sends out invitations a year and a half after meeting Seamus and Percy is so proud of his brother for being brave enough to tell the world.

Percy isn't that brave.

Percy's never been that brave.

He started dating Oliver in his seventh year and never told a soul.

He didn't say a word when they broke up and he felt like he was breaking apart but he knew it was his fault, because he'd abandoned his family. Because he thought it was right.

He knows now that it wasn't.

But after the war Oliver gave him more than he ever expected. Oliver gave him forgiveness.

Forgiveness he never once felt he deserved. Not even in his wildest flights of fancy as a dreamer.

Oliver gave him his heart.

Percy felt selfish for asking for more.

He never meant to fall in love with Cedric. It was never in the plans.

So much of his life was never in the plans.

And yet here they are, the three of them, stupid in love and yet Percy's never told a damn soul.

They are love notes and quiet nights and everything domestic and beautiful, but they are in the shadows, because Percy doesn't know how to stop being ashamed.

He doesn't know how to tell people that he's bisexual.

He doesn't know how to tell people that he's in love with these two gorgeous, amazing, soulful men who make him better than he was.

And he hates himself for it.

But this is his little brother's wedding. And if George can marry the man he loves, then Percy can bring both of the men he loves to a wedding and have a dance with them.

In public.

Probably.

…

He brings Cedric as his plus one because Oliver gets his own invitation but in the end it doesn't matter, because they all show up to the rehearsal dinner arm in arm.

Percy is trying not show his terror. Oliver and Cedric are each gripping a hand tightly.

They know what this means to him, even if they aren't quite sure why he's so afraid.

Ron is the first one to ask. He looks at the three of them, hands held tight, and says, "Wait, Perce, are you… dating?"

Percy smiles, slightly shaky, and says, "Yes."

Ron pauses for a moment, and Percy's heart goes cold but then Ron smiles and says, "Congratulations!" And Percy can breathe again.

And that's how it goes — soft and congratulatory and his mother hugs them all and George and Seamus are pleased and beaming and Percy wonders why he was afraid.

The next day the wedding happens and Percy finds himself stumbling on the dance floor trying to make a three-way waltz happen, all of them stumbling and swaying, and Percy has never been so happy to be wrong.

* * *

Writing Month: 485

Moresome May: action: dancing; word count: 485

Character Appreciation: 5. (relationship) Siblings

Showtime: 21. A Heart Full of Love - (emotion) Shame

Lyric Alley 19. Dancing on tiptoes

Scavenger Hunt: 2. Use the prompt set: _Luna Lovegood (character), dreamer (word), dancing (action), love note (object), Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer (song), flower crown (object)_

Insane House: Trait - Paranoid


	15. OliverPercyCedric, writer Percy

Assignment 11: Occlumency: **Task 1:** Write about someone getting lost in a puzzle (figuratively or literally).

* * *

"Love?" Cedric calls from the dining room. "Are you going to come eat?"

"Just a minute," Percy mumbles.

Fifteen minutes later, Oliver wanders into the office to find Percy hunched over his desk, parchment scattered around him, quill scribbling furiously on a piece that has some sort of diagram on it, circles interlocking and lines tracing all over the surface.

"What are you even doing, babe?" Oliver asks, coming up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder, pressing a light kiss to the top of his head.

Percy hums but doesn't answer.

Oliver drums his fingers, deliberately catching Percy's attention.

"What are you doing?"

"It's here," Percy says, glancing at him with eyes full of longing for understanding and then immediately back down. "I know the answer is here. I just need to _find it_."

Oliver draws his hand up, rubbing the back of Percy's neck lightly. "You need to eat, hun."

"Give me five minutes."

"You said that fifteen minutes ago."

It's not like Oliver is surprised. This is how Percy gets, ever since he quit the Ministry four years ago, just after making Minister for Magic.

It had stunned almost everyone who knew him — except Oliver and Cedric, who had seen the discontent growing under his skin.

These days, he investigates corruption and human rights issues and injustices of all kinds and, once he can fit the pieces together, writes articles exposing them all. He fights for equality.

He's damn good at it, too.

But when he gets on the trail of something, he gets like this. He worries at it and worries at it, driving himself mad staring at the puzzle until the pieces start swimming before his eyes.

He'll drive himself over the edge if left to his own devices.

Oliver and Cedric know better than to let it get that far.

"You know how this works," Oliver says softly. "You need to let your brain relax. Let it make its own connections. Just close your eyes for a second. Don't force it, or you'll never see what's there."

Percy sighs, scratches another line with his quill, and then caps his inkpot.

"You're right. I know you're right. I just… it's _right there_ , Ol."

"And you're not going to lose it if you come eat dinner."

Percy runs a hand through his frazzled curls. Then, he braces to push his chair back and Oliver steps aside to give him the room.

He smiles at Percy's hair, which is sticking up in every direction, clearly demonstrating his stress. "You're adorable," he says, because he can't help it. Percy's like a curly hedgehog and Oliver loves him like this (not that Oliver doesn't love him in every manifestation possible) because he's usually so put together.

Percy scowls and tries to flatten his hair, ineffectually. Oliver grins, slings an arm around his waist, and steers them to the dining room.

"Sit," he says. "Eat. Talk to us. Then you can go back to saving the world one exposé at a time, okay?"

Percy smiles at him, soft but genuine. "Okay."

Cedric grins at them both as they take their seats.

"I see you've decided to rejoin the world," he says.

Percy scowls at him, but it has no heat, only playfulness.

"Thanks for making dinner," he says. His mother tried to teach him — tried to teach every single one of her children — but cooking will never be one of Percy's talents.

Cedric just smiles and says, "Any time."

Percy loves them. Cedric, who is soft and steady and solid, who will always be there but will wait for Percy to come to him. And Oliver, who is fierce and fiery and fighty, who will push him when he needs to be pushed.

He doesn't understand how he lives in a world where he gets to love both of them, and have both of them love him back, but he doesn't dare question it.

* * *

Writing Month: 655

Moresome May: writer!AU; wc: 655

Character Appreciation: 4. (era) Next Gen

Showtime: 17. Paris / Look Down - (word) Equality

Scavenger Hunt: 18. Use the prompt set: _'close your eyes' (dialogue), longing (word), kiss (action)_

Insane House: Style - Present Tense


	16. OliverPercyCedric, always yours

You never meant for things to happen this way.

You love Percy — you love him fiercely and without regret.

But Cedric Diggory is the fresh, new assistant Healer for Puddlemere and he smiles at you with bright eyes and he makes you laugh.

He attracts you.

Your love for Percy is not diminished by your growing affection for Cedric. They are separate things entirely, unrelated to each other but yet intertwined like smoke trails.

So when Cedric comes to you and asks if you want to go to dinner with him it hurts to say no.

But you do.

You say you're sorry and you say you have a boyfriend and Cedric smiles at you and says thanks for being honest and you feel _guilty_.

You feel guilty because a part of you wants to say yes.

You go home and you find Percy and you tell him the truth.

You tell him that you think you could fall in love.

You tell him that you're sorry and that you'll transfer if you need to because you will do _anything_ not to hurt him.

He smiles at you softly and says that loving someone is not a crime.

And that's how it starts.

And then there's Percy asking to get to know the man who caught your attention and Percy saying he understands why you like him.

And a year's journey of dinners and game nights and simple nights in where they just talk and even a carnival — all of that adds up to you and Percy in love with him without a clue what to do about it.

You talk about it.

And then you talk about it some more.

And then you talk about it some more.

In the end, you decide that it's worth the risk, because you think it can be something beautiful. And it's different, because this way it's not a betrayal. It's you and Percy together in this, united, knowing that even if Cedric breaks your hearts you'll always have each other.

And so you go to him, the both of you, and you ask him if he wants to go on a date.

And Cedric smiles at you with bright eyes and says yes.

* * *

Writing Month: 371

Moresome May: Scenario: An established pairing meet the third person and both fall in love. Word count: 371

Showtime: 39. Suddenly (reprise) - (word) Journey

Photography Month: 1. Abstract Photography: Use no dialogue whatsoever in your story.

Cooking: mint: word: fresh

Pokemon: title: always you; Word: Smoke; Style: 2nd person pov; Genre: Romance

Debate: fanon: word: attract

Insane House: Trope - Everybody Lives


	17. OliverPercyCedric, babysitting

Moresomes: Dialogue: "Was that supposed to hurt?"

AAA: 4. I Have Heard the Future - (era) Next-Gen

Cooking: chocolate Chips: next-gen

Holmes: relationship: cousins

* * *

Percy doesn't understand how this happened.

He thought he was going to have a nice, quiet night with his boyfriends.

Then Bill sent a Patronus saying he got called in to work unexpectedly and could Percy please watch Vic and Dom?

Which is fine. Percy adores his nieces and seeing Oliver and Cedric play with them never fails to make him smile.

Except then George sends him a Patronus that says he accidentally caused a small explosion (which probably means _Seamus_ accidentally caused a small explosion) and could he please just watch Fred and Roxanne while they cleaned it up?

Which is fine. Fred and Roxy are a handful, but Percy loves them.

It's just that when all the cousins get together… well, it's a lot.

Currently, Dom is sitting in the corner with a coloring book while Fred has a pot on his head and a spoon in his hand. He's decided he's a soldier, and he's trampling over Victoire's train because he says it's bringing enemy troops. This has resulted in a bawling Victoire. Meanwhile, Percy doesn't even know where Roxy _is_.

Percy sighs.

"Ced, love, can you please find Roxanne?"

Cedric nods and disappears while Oliver scoops up a sobbing Vic and starts talking to her, leaving Percy to deal with Fred.

He crouches down in front of his nephew.

"Fred? Will you give me the spoon?"

"You can't have my sword!" Fred cries.

"You've upset your cousin," Percy says reasonably. "So you need to give me the sword and apologize to Victoire."

"No! You're the enemy!"

And that's when Fred leaps at him and smacks him with the spoon.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Cedric asks, coming back from the other room and thankfully holding Roxanne.

Percy is wincing, because it _kind of did hurt_.

He scoops the spoon out of Fred's hand and says, "You are _not allowed to hit people_ ," in his sternest voice. "It _hurts them_ and it's _not nice_."

Fred pauses, looks at him, and then starts sobbing.

Percy wants to tear his hair out.

"Go sit in the corner. Two minutes. Now," he tells Fred, trying not to feel like an asshole.

Fred wails, and Percy sighs, scooping him up and setting him down in the corner to stare at the wall.

He turns back to see that Oliver and Victoire are sitting on the couch, Oliver conjuring bunches of flowers to make her laugh. Cedric is dancing around the room with Roxy in his arms.

Dominique, in the corner, has decided to stop coloring in her coloring book and start coloring on the wall.

Percy puts his head in his hands. "Why do people give me children?" he asks the room at large. "I am _not good with children."_

"I've got it, love," Cedric says easily, dancing Roxy over and then leaning down to pluck the crayon from Dominique. "Heya, Dom. What do you say we put on a movie?"

Dominique, whose bottom lip was wobbling at the loss of her crayon, grins up at him with a gap-toothed smile.

"Yay!"

By the time the movie is set up, Fred's timeout is over and they round up all four children on to the couch.

Percy is praising every deity there is that all four seem interested in the movie.

Which is, of course, when Oliver comes over, wraps his arms around Percy, and asks, "When are we going to have one of our own?"

Percy seriously considers strangling him.


	18. OliverPercyCedric, uni housemates

Moresomes: Scenario: The members of the triad are all housemates or neighbours before falling in love. Words: 570

Cooking: bourbon: word: drunk

Insane house: object: lamp

…

Percy is going to kill his roommate.

That's it.

Oliver Wood must die.

It's _May._

 _He has exams_.

And yet he's come home from the library to a _party_ in his _house_.

He clutches his library books tightly to his chest and winds through the house, looking for either of his housemates. He finds Cedric on the couch with a beer in hand, a bemused expression on his face. He's illuminated by the lamplight and he looks beautiful.

"Cedric, what the hell?" He has to shout to be heard over the pounding bass.

Cedric grins back at him.

"So kind of you to join us!" he yells back.

"What on Earth is going on here?"

Cedric grins again, loose and clearly a little tipsy.

"Oliver accidentally threw a party!"

Percy moves closer, trying to make sure he heard that right.

"What?"

Cedric pulls him down onto the couch and leans in almost unbearably close — close enough that Percy is having trouble suppressing a shiver. He reminds himself sternly that neither of his housemates are allowed to know that he has a crush on them.

"Oliver accidentally threw a party," Cedric says again, and Percy can feel the warmth of his breath on his ear.

"How do you _accidentally_ throw a party?" he says in Cedric's ear.

Cedric shrugs, limbs loose. "It was just meant to be a study group with his football team, but I think once it got to your brothers it spiraled out of control."

And yeah, that sounds like Fred and George.

Percy sighs.

"C'mon, Perce. You've been working all day. He didn't do it on purpose. Save the murderous impulses for later and have some fun."

"I have an essay due."

"When?"

Percy punches his lips together, because he knows this answer isn't going to persuade Cedric.

"Two weeks."

"Oh, come on! Take one night off, Percy."

Percy sighs, staring at Cedric's pleading grey eyes.

"Give me that, then," he says, and he swipes Cedric's beer and takes a swig.

He shudders. "You have terrible taste," he informs Cedric.

Cedric shrugs. Percy takes another drink.

If he's going to do this, he's going to do it right.

…

Oliver finds them sprawled out on the couch. Cedric's head is in Percy's lap and Percy is toying with his hair. The world seems slow like molasses but Percy smiles.

"Oliver," he says.

"Jesus, Ced, what did you do?"

Percy frowns. He thinks that's rude, but he can't quite figure out why. "Made my own decisions," he finally says sulkily.

"How much did you drink, hun?" Oliver asks him.

Percy shrugs airily. "Four? Five?"

"Is it time for bed?"

Percy shakes his head, and the world spins. "Noooooooo. Time for fun."

"What kind of fun?" Cedric asks him.

Percy's just drunk enough to attempt to waggle his eyebrows at him.

Cedric laughs, and he looks so beautiful that Percy leans down and kisses him softly. When he pulls away, Cedric is staring at him with wide grey eyes and Oliver is staring at them both with an expression that Percy can't read but Percy wants to kiss him, too.

So he says so.

And Oliver leans in.

And maybe this is a bad idea and maybe Percy's going to regret this when he's sober and maybe it's going to ruin everything.

But maybe it's the beginning of something.

Either way, at least he has tonight.


	19. PercyOliver, take wing with you

Something of a sequel to Bex (DobbyRockSocks)'s fic, Fallen, though reading that is not necessary to understanding this. All you need to know is Oliver is a fallen angel.

Assignment 12: Muggle Creatures EC: Task 6 - Birds: Wings!fic

* * *

"Come with me," Oliver says. Percy looks up from his desk.

Oliver is standing in the doorway to his office, cream-coloured wings half extended. It's always a sign that he's content — at peace. When he's scared he tucks his wings in and when he's angry they flare out and forward. Happy is out and back.

After two years of dating an angel, Percy is well versed in reading his emotions in his wings.

Half-spread is one of his favorites. Half-spread wings are accompanied by lazy, fond smiles and half-lidded eyes. Sometimes, he even looks haloed in gold.

And Percy is so, so eternally grateful that he gets to have this.

It wasn't easy.

Percy was seventeen when Oliver fell in his garden. He hadn't expected what came after. He hadn't expected the regret that came with leaving Oliver behind, and he hadn't expected the joy that came with seeing him again.

He hadn't expected a friend.

Least of all had he expected the way they'd fallen in love.

It was two years ago, just after the war ended, when Percy had kissed Oliver for the first time and had felt himself come alive.

Two years later, he still feels every kiss like a wildfire, and is, if anything, even more in love.

But still, he cannot indulge Oliver's every whim. Oliver is eternally joyful, sometimes childlike. He doesn't understand the need for work. "I'm working," Percy insists.

"Well, don't," says Oliver.

"Why are you being like this?" Percy says, but it's more out of habit than genuine annoyance. He sighs, glancing back down at the paperwork. The truth is, it can wait.

He looks back up at Oliver, and he knows Oliver can see the concession in his eyes, because he grins and it's luminous, wings flaring in excitement before settling back to their contented state.

"Very well," Percy says, capping his inkpot. Oliver lunges at him, wrapping his arms around him and Percy doesn't even have time to laugh before Oliver's wings are flapping, creating their own whirlwinds, taking both of them out of their apartment and up into the sunny sky.

"What did I say about flying without consent?" Percy calls out, the wind whipping his voice away, but he's laughing.

Oliver doesn't reply, just tucks Percy in close and spins them into a gentle barrel roll.

Percy doesn't like to admit it, but he loves flying with Oliver. It made him nervous at first, but now he can't imagine anything better. He loves the way it feels like the whole world narrows down to just them, the way the wind whips around them and chills him, but Oliver's superhuman warmth embraces him.

It's something unique to Oliver.

Oliver sets him down in a meadow of wildflowers. Percy doesn't understand how he _finds_ these places, honestly.

But Oliver has always loved the wildest parts of this Earth — the meadows, the forests. Nature, untouched by human hands. He says they remind him of heaven.

Percy watches as Oliver flops down in the meadow, wings splayed out behind him. The meadow is large, which is good, because Oliver's wingspan is upwards of 25 feet when fully spread like this.

"C'mere," Oliver says, patting his wing.

Percy smiles at him, small but genuine, and lays down on the wing, letting Oliver curl an arm around him.

The first time Oliver had beckoned like this, Percy had been terrified that it was going to damage Oliver's wings — the thought was intolerable.

But the joints aren't like human joints. They flex, bearing the stress of his weight easily without hurting Oliver. As long as Oliver doesn't jerk his wings and yank out any feathers, it's fine.

And it's incredibly peaceful, laying beside Oliver, Oliver's arm around his shoulders, Percy's head on Oliver's chest. Percy lets the serenity of the moment wash over him.

Oliver smiles down at him.

"Is this all you wanted?" Percy asks.

"Yeah," Oliver says.

Percy wonders if he should be mad, but honestly? He'd rather be here than doing paperwork any day.

* * *

Writing Month: 673

Dragons: 673

Seasonal: Days of the Year: Be an Angel Day: Write an Angel!AU [Bonus] / Summer Prompts: (weather) Sunny / Colour Prompts: cream / Element: (word) luminous / Gryffindor Themed Prompts: Percy, Oliver

Disney: C4: Kristoff - Write about the Weasleys (any of them) / Amber's Attic: 14. Brightfall: Write an angel/demon!au (bonus 5 points) / Buttons: W1: serenity / Lyric Alley: 21. Reaching endless heights in never ending nights / Em's Emporium: Ginny Weasley/Pansy Parkinson: write a post-war story. / Lo's Lowdown:C5: Hikaru Sulu - write about someone who loves plants

Gobstones: Gold Stone - First Love A: AU: angel. P: (word) Friend. T: (action) snuggling

Insane House: 470. Item: ink

Funfair: North, Ice cream: Chocolate and Marshmallow. South, Wheel of Fortune: (action) flying. East, Circus: Acrobats: [Dialogue] "Why are you being like this?"; [Word] Flying; [Emotion] Nervous; [Colour] Gold


	20. Charlie and Dominique, favourite uncle

WC: 495

Disney: S5: Love Is An Open Door - Write about love at first sight. / Book Club: The Count: (object) eye patch - (word) secret - (dialogue) "Don't be too sure about that. [Name] doesn't do anyone favours." / Buttons: W5: fancy / Lyric Alley 15. Filled up feelings

Film Fest 21. Word: secrets

Balloons: word: celebration

Debate: family, word: fantastic

Fun Fair: North: Balloons: Dominique. East: Hook a Ship: sunburn. South: Bumper Cars: Blue 9: "I saw you."

Insane house: word: redolent

…

Charlie comes home for a celebration of Dominique's birth in the same way he came home for Victoire's, except that when he arrives at the house Bill opens the door, takes one look at the fancy eyepatch covering his right eye — a sharp contrast to the red of his perpetually half-tan-half-sunburnt skin, and drops his head into his hands.

"What did you do?"

Bill's voice is muffled by his hands.

Charlie shrugs. "Dumbass trainee got too close to Henrietta. She flicked her tail. It's healed, it's just a little light sensitive."

"Naturally," says Bill. He does not sound impressed. But then, it's not a secret that he hates seeing Charlie get hurt.

Charlie, though, is well used to it by this point.

"Ah, Charlie," Fleur says, coming into the front hall holding his newest niece. "I saw you said you were coming."

Charlie grins. "Of course I came. Had to ensure my place as favorite uncle early, didn't I? It's important that Dominique knows that I'm fantastic."

Fleur rolls her eyes at him, but Charlie just holds his arms out for his niece.

"May I?"

And Fleur may joke with him, but Charlie can read her trust in the way that she easily hands him Dominique, no hesitation. He feels a shock of warmth as he looks down at his niece. A burst of immediate love for this tiny being.

She's beautiful, and so _small_. He remembers feeling the same way with Victoire, but somehow this is a shock all over again. He holds her up and sniffs her head because he can't help it — she's redolent with that unique baby smell.

"If you're the favourite uncle, that means you'll babysit, right?" Fleur asks.

"Don't be too sure about that," Bill says with a grin. "Charlie doesn't do anyone favours."

Charlie scowls at him. "That was one time!"

"And I'm never, ever going to let it die."

Charlie shoves him with his shoulder, but lightly, so as not to disturb Dominique, who is sleepily blinking in his arms.

"You infuriate me," Charlie says, but he knows his grin negates the words.

Bill just grins back. "You've been in Romania for too long. I've got to get my jokes in while I can."

"Sure, sure. Just because I'm the only one who moved away."

"You moved out of the damn country!"

"And you're a wizard with the ability to _teleport_!"

Bill shrugs, conceding the point.

"Fair enough. How are my weird, winged nieces and nephews?"

Charlie smiles like the sun at the mention of his dragon "children."

"Elaria has started flying!" he gushes.

Fleur wanders out of the room, mumbling, "You should never get him started."

Charlie doesn't care. He has passion. He doesn't think that's a bad thing.

So he holds his brand new niece and he talks to his brother about dragons and he misses his family just a little, but not enough to consider leaving the job that he loves more than anything.


	21. BartyReg, freefall

WC: 573 (writing month, dragons)

Char App: 5. Sneer (bonus for barty)

Book Club: Master Legend: (trait) villain - (word) wish - (dialogue) "No need to look at me as if I'll sneak into your house at night and strangle all your kittens."

Funfair: North: Balloon Wall: emotion: fear East: Hook a ship: (word) eye patch South: Wheel of fortune: Barty Crouch Jr.

* * *

"I really wish you wouldn't do that," Regulus says, coming up behind Barty on the Astronomy tower. His voice is calm, but Barty can hear the faint undertones of fear.

Barty twists his torso, legs dangling over the edge. "Do what?"

Regulus grimaces as though Barty is the bane of his existence, and Barty sighs.

"No need to look at me as if I'll sneak into your house at night and strangle all your kittens," he says with a wry twist of his lips that's almost but not quite a sneer.

Regulus rolls his eyes.

Barty twists back around, and then arches his back so far he's staring at Regulus upside down.

"Aren't you ever tempted to see what falling feels like?"

"No," Regulus says. "I'm really, really not."

Barty rights himself and shrugs. "I am."

He goes quiet for a minute.

"I think I'm going to join the Death Eaters," he says, after the silence stretches so far it feels like it might snap. "I'm not sure how much of it is because I want to and how much is to spite my father."

He's always found it easiest to be honest like this — when he doesn't have to see Regulus' face.

Regulus sighs, but it sounds weirdly brittle.

"I think I am, too." A pause, and then, "I'm not sure how much of it is because I want to and how much is because I fear disappointing my father."

Barty laughs, cold and bitter.

"God, aren't we a pair," he says.

He hears Regulus move closer.

He wonders if either of them are ever going to mention what they've been dancing around — he's pretty sure Regulus likes him. He knows he likes Regulus.

It's taboo, though, and Regulus is always a stickler for the rules. He thinks it may be up to him to broach the subject, and he doesn't know how to do that without risking pushing Regulus away, so he won't.

Regulus is the best friend he's ever had. He's not going to risk that.

After a long moment, he stands up and hops off the stone wall, facing Regulus.

Regulus looks at him.

Barty looks back.

Regulus shivers.

"Dammit, Reg, warming charms are not that hard," Barty says, and his tone is fonder than he means it to be as he flourishes his wand, casting a warming charm.

Regulus smiles, and Barty _wants_.

"There, isn't that better?" he says instead of anything else he wants to say.

"I don't understand why you have so much movement on that spell," Regulus says instead of answering the question. "One of these days you're going to poke your damn eye out."

"That's fine," Barty says blithely. "Then I'll get an eye patch, and pretend to be a pirate. Everyone loves pirates."

"Pirates love pirates, Barty. Everyone else hates pirates."

Barty shrugs, grinning. "See, then? I was destined to be a pirate."

Regulus rolls his eyes.

"Don't worry," Barty says. "You can come with me. We can rule the seven seas together!"

Regulus hums. "I'm not sure the pirate's life is for me."

Barty considers this. "No, that's true. You'd be a terrible pirate. Guess I'd best keep both eyes, then."

Regulus grins at him. "Not exactly the reasoning I'd have gone with, but I can't fault your conclusion.

Barty steps away from the edge.

The truth is, with Regulus there, he doesn't feel so much like he needs to try freefall.


	22. DeanSeamus, raise a glass

The man who comes up beside him in the bar is cute, in a tiny sort of way. Dean is nearly a foot taller than him, but he's lean but muscled and his freckles are kind of endearing.

 _Maybe_ , Dean thinks, _maybe this one won't be an asshole._

He doesn't dare hope, though.

He's really not sure why he keeps coming to bars. They're filled almost entirely with assholes. The Leaky Cauldron is better than others, but really not by much.

But this guy smiles in a way that seems genuine and opens with, "Can I buy you a drink?" So far, so good.

"Wine," Dean says, just to see if he'll get a look of judgement for that. Because, again. Assholes.

But this guy doesn't even flinch, just asks, "Red or white?"

"Red," Dean says, and the guy turns to the bartender and orders a red wine and a rum and coke.

He hands the wine off to Dean easily, and then holds out a hand to shake.

"Raise a glass to the fucking weekend," he says, and Dean will certainly drink to that.

"Seamus," the man says with a grin after taking a sip. "And you are?"

"Dean," Dean says, returning the smile.

"God," Seamus says. "Your smile is fucking amazing."

Dean blinks, because it's been a long time since he's heard a compliment sound so _sincere_. Frankly, it's been a long time since he's heard a compliment sound like anything other than a sleazy attempt to get into his pants.

It's… nice, he thinks.

"Thank you," he says quietly, grateful that the dark lighting combined with his dark skin means any blush will be invisible.

"Of course," says Seamus. "Would you… I mean. I'd really like to get to know you better. Maybe we could go get something to eat? Somewhere we can hear ourselves think?"

He's a little nervous, a little insecure, and somehow that just makes it even better. Because Seamus looks _real_. It feels like finding buried treasure underneath a heap of trash.

And the freckles really are adorable.

So Dean smiles, and says, "I think I'd like that," and Seamus beams like the fucking sun.

 _Whoa_ , Dean thinks. Talk about a fucking amazing smile.

Maybe this one really isn't an asshole after all.

…

Writing Club: 333

Daily Prompt: drink: wine

Going Postal: Drink: rum.

Hook a ship (east): treasure

Showtime 4: "Raise a glass."

Lyric Alley 18. I'm dying inside, as you wine and dine

Hamilton: Act 1, 5: Getting drunk - (setting) The Leaky Cauldron; invisible


	23. GeorgeSeamus, comfort

The first time, it's mostly an accident.

He casts his Patronus because he's supposed to be meeting Dean for lunch in half an hour but he's been called in for an unexpected shift at the hospital in just fifteen minutes, and he needs to let Dean know he won't be coming.

His fox springs from his wand, silvery and ethereal, but instead of turning around and awaiting instruction, the fox leaps across their tiny apartment to find George on the couch. George is staring at the wall — today has been a bad day.

But he looks up when Seamus' fox curls up in his lap and begins nuzzling his arm.

The corner of George's mouth twists into something that's almost a smile — closer than he usually gets on bad days.

Seamus blinks at the scene, as George lifts a hand and strokes along the incorporeal fur.

"Hi there," George says softly.

The fox nuzzles at his hand.

Seamus stares.

…

So that's the first time. The second time it's not an accident. It's more of an experiment.

The second time is one of the days where it's five in the afternoon and George hasn't gotten out of bed and Seamus is tired.

Seamus is tired of feeling helpless. Because he has bad days, too, and he knows what it's like to feel like he just doesn't have the energy to get out of bed. But that doesn't mean he doesn't wish he could help.

But the tea he left on the nightstand has long since gone cold and his voice just makes George curl away from him.

But he thinks about the other day, about the way George had looked with Seamus' fox on his lap.

He gestures with his wand, and his silvery fox bursts forth.

His fox doesn't even glance at him. Instead, it trots straight for George, darting right where he lays on his side, and curling up between his knees and his stomach. Its head is tucked under George's chin, just below the pillow.

George blinks at the tiny fox. For a moment, nothing happens, but then he reaches out with his hand, stroking the silvery fox between the ears.

From the doorway, Seamus smiles.

…

And after that, it just becomes a habit.

On bad days, Seamus' fox keeps George company.

George tries to return the favour only once. He hasn't been able to cast a Patronus since… well. Since.

But Seamus doesn't mind.

It's not about him. It's about being able to do something, _anything_ to help.

Seamus isn't looking for a happily ever after. He knows they're too broken for that. And he doesn't know what the future will bring. But for now, being able to bring a little bit of comfort is enough.

* * *

464 words

Character Appreciation: 30. (Spell) Patronus

Showtime: 18. Guns and Ships - (trait) Ingenuitive

Amber's Attic: Slash 8. GeorgeSeamus (5 bonus)

Lyric Alley: 30. No stress, my love for you is never in doubt

Sophie's Shelf: 81. Prompt: (word) Experiment

Funfair: North: balloon wall: Happily Ever After by He is We. East: Ferris Wheel: caring.

Hamilton Mania: Act 1. 17. Winning a war - (era) Post-war; pillow

Going Postal: write about your character casting a Patronus

Daily: word: ethereal


	24. SeamusHarry, Quidditch Kisses

Writing month: 448

Char App 2. Seeker (bonus for Harry) / Lyric Alley 7. Grind to the rhythm as we wine and dine

Ham Mania: Act 1, 11: Falling in love - (genre) romance; predict.

North, Ghost Train: Compartment 12 - alt. Plot Point: Sneaking into a secret area.; East; Ferris Wheel 5. Baby blue

Going Postal: Setting: Quidditch stands

Daily: Harry Potter

 **NOTE: this particular drabble is rated M for some fade to black sex.**

..

"This is boring," Seamus says. "Honestly. Hufflepuff are up by 200 points and we all know they're gonna get the Snitch. Ravenclaw doesn't have a choice. Even if the predictions are wrong and Ravenclaw somehow gets the snitch, they still lose. There's no point."

Harry glances at his boyfriend.

Seamus is looking at him, baby blue eyes wide and begging, lips twisted into a pout.

It's a look he knows Harry can't resist.

Harry glances back at the field, but honestly, Hufflepuff have just scored again, and at this point it won't matter who catches the snitch. It's the first game of the year and Ravenclaw seem to have lost any talent they had over the summer. Or in the war, but Harry is trying not to think about that. It's a new chance at his seventh year.

Harry loves Quidditch, but Seamus sticks his bottom lip out a little further and Harry's eyes can't help but draw to it.

And then Seamus pulls his lip in, bites down, and lets his teeth drag over it.

Which, _fuck_.

Harry stands, takes Seamus' hand, and drags him down the stands.

Seamus grins wickedly and ducks under the stands, dragging Harry with him into the shrouded darkness.

It feels dangerous — the kind of dangerous that Harry hasn't had enough of in his life. Not life threatening, just a risk of embarrassment. Just enough danger to give him the thrill, without the fear for his life that was present for so long.

It's the best kind of dangerous.

Harry is laughing, breathless as he pins Seamus against one of the supports and kisses him, fierce and unrelenting. Seamus lets himself be pushed, kisses back just as unrelentingly.

Harry bites down on Seamus' lip in the same place Seamus dragged his teeth over. Seamus gasps, almost a moan but there's no breath behind it. .

Harry pulls back a bit and grins, sharp and dangerous. Seamus is panting, breathless, and Harry dips his head, trails kisses down his neck. They're almost of a height, both of them shorter than average, and Harry loves the access that gives him.

Seamus tips his head back, hitting the support beam with a thunk that makes them both pause, remembering exactly where they are. Remembering exactly how close everyone else is.

They freeze, but then Harry watches as a sharp, vicious grin spreads over Seamus' face.

The kind of grin that means Harry is really going to enjoy what comes next.

Seamus leans in close, says, "Do you think you can keep your mouth shut for me?"

Harry is nodding before he can think, and then Seamus is dropping to his knees and Harry is a goner.


	25. JamesLily, fragile (I'll keep you safe)

Romance Awarness: Once you meet your soulmate, you grow wings like an angel. You gain one new feather each time something special happens between you two.

* * *

Most of James's primary feathers come in the day Lily gives birth to Harry, sitting in their living room, guided by Lily's friend Marlene, who is a Healer.

He got most of his secondary feathers the day he married her, staring into her beautiful bright green eyes.

He still remembers the day he held her hand for the first time and felt the first itch of a down feather coming in. He was sixteen years old, and he knew even then that this was going to be forever. Lily is his endgame. She's everything he's ever wanted — flash fire and rage and _spirit_.

Seeing his son for the first time isn't a tiny itch, like the down feathers. It's all consuming, all encompassing, and his wings are twitching with it. He can't stop staring at his little boy, his _son_ , this tiny thing with a shock of black hair, cradled in his mother's arms. Lily's grip is soft and secure and oh-so-careful.

And James knows in this moment that he will do anything he possibly can to keep his son safe. He will fight this war. He will run away if he must, even though he knows it will be impossible for him, to give his son the best life that he can.

Because that child is a part of him. A part of Lily. A few minutes old and already the best thing James has ever been a part of. He's wrapped in a dark green blanket, and when he opens his eyes, they're the same bright green as his mother's.

He's perfect. And he's so small, and he looks so _fragile_. So innocent.

James pulls the tips of his wings around his torso, scratching at the place where he can feel feathers coming in.

Lily's smile is impossibly bright. She looks tired, almost sedated, but she's also never been more beautiful.

"What do you think?" she asks James quietly.

"You know I'll take care of you," he says, voice fiercer than he means it to come out. "I'd do anything for you. Both of you. Whatever, however I can."

And Lily's smile is soft as she says, "I know."

James knows it isn't going to be easy. Children aren't easy, even when there isn't a war to factor in.

But Lily breathes, "Hello, Harry," into their son's hair and James thinks that it doesn't matter how hard it gets.

It will be worth it.

* * *

Auction: Dark Green

Holmes: Godric's Hollow

Tea: Godric's Hollow

Chocolate: Truffle: Sweet - write a fluff fic. Give me all the fluffs!

Word Count: 407

CCC: Needles: Write a het pairing. / Book Club: Luke: (dialogue) "You know I'll take care of you.", (word) sedated, (trait) family orientated / Showtime 14. Tomorrow is a Latter Day - (dialogue) "I'd do anything for you." / AA T3: 3. Unicorn: Write about innocence. (5 bonus points) / Lyric Alley 22. Reaching for the sun / AAA 1. The Going-Home Song - Write about someone at home. / Em's Emporium 9. Shay (belle parole): Write about an unapologetic Gryffindor. Alt — (trait) Winner. / BB: F1: Elephants are the largest land animals on the planet - Write about someone with a larger than life personality. Alternatively, write about a large event in someone's life.


	26. ArgusIrma, rumours

**Geography: Task 6:** Write about a story that gets exaggerated over time.

* * *

It starts, as these things do, with a rumour.

With eye contact and a twist of the lips that might be a smile.

…

" _I saw Filch smile at Pince in the library!"_

" _No way. Filch? Smile? That's not possible."_

" _Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite a smile, but it was something close!"_

" _Are you trying to tell me Filch and Pince…"_

" _I'm not trying to say anything. Just… I know that was a smile."_

… _._

It spirals, as rumours do.

…

" _No, I swear to god. I heard it from a Hufflepuff who heard it from a Ravenclaw who heard it from a fourth-year who saw it with her own eyes. Filch and Prince kissing in the library! Right over the returns desk!"_

" _That's disgusting._

" _It's the truth!"_

…

It gets wilder and wilder, as is the way with these things.

…

" _Did you hear about the poor Gryffindor sixth year who went to return a book and saw Pince and Filch fucking in the stacks?"_

" _Dude. Why would you even say that?"_

" _It's the truth!"_

" _Even if it is, I really did not need to know."_

" _Yeah, whatever, you know you're picturing it."_

"… _what position?"_

" _See! I knew you wanted to know!"_

" _Yeah, yeah. You gonna tell me?"_

" _I mean, I only know what I heard, but… Pince was definitely riding him like a hippogriff."_

" _Oh, god. Ew. My brain. I need bleach. Please, don't ever mention this again. I had a nightmare the last time, and this is way worse."_

…

And, eventually, it makes its way back to the source.

...

" _The students keep giggling at me, Irma. More than usual. Why do the students keep giggling at me?"_

" _Oh, don't worry about it, Argus. It's just the student rumour mill. You know how these things are."_

" _Rumours about…"_

" _About us."_

" _How would they even know about us?"_

" _I don't know, dear. Maybe it's the skip in your step?"_

…

The truth is, Irma is used to the rumour mill. She's been working with children for decades.

It's why she only kisses Argus in the privacy of her own rooms.

Sometimes, though, she's surprised at exactly how much the rumour mill gets right.

* * *

Disney C4: George Banks - Write about someone overworked. Alternatively, write about someone grumpy.

Lyric Alley 10. When the sharpest words want to cut me down

Sophie's Shelf: 41. Argus/Irma

Bex's Bazaar: D4: [Song] When I See An Elephant Fly - Write about something unusual happening. Alternatively, write about someone with an amazing skill.

Writing Month/Dragons: 364

Auction: Setting: Hogwarts

Holmes: "I had a nightmare."


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